Shigs In Pit BBQ & Brew — Restaurant in Fort Wayne

Food - A measurement of food quality compared with the price. (2.0 out of 5)

The quality of the food has gone downhill when I compare it with past visits. My girlfriend ordered the two meat platter which had burnt ends and brisket. Burnt ends need to be crispy and they were not. The brisket was mediocre at best.

One of her sides included coleslaw which had huge chunks of cabbage as opposed to the finely shredded consistency that I am used to. There was a one inch puddle of coleslaw water in the bottom of the container that it came in.

We all ordered a different dessert which were adequate. Some of these desserts would be much more appealing if they were heated up in an oven and then served. My banana pudding was excellent.

My pulled pork sandwich was ok, albeit greasy. It needed the BBQ sauce in order for me to eat it, which is not ok. BBQ sauce should be a chosen condiment rather than a requirement. Based on the taste alone, we felt like we were eating leftovers.

Price - A measurement of monetary value compared with the quality of the food. (1 out of 5)

The prices are unreasonably high. With two adults and one child eating, we spent $60 dollars. I am fine with spending big money on eating out, especially if it is a treat. But $60 on leftovers is unreasonable and unfair. My meal of a pulled pork sandwich, one side, a drink, and dessert cost just under $20.

The prices alone are reason enough for me to not want to return.

I feel like they are charging upscale/full prices, for re-heated food.

Customer Service - A measurement of how friendly the staff were, as well as the overall dining experience. (3 out of 5)

The customer service was fine, just not excellent. This is a pay at the counter at the same time you order, type of place. They give you a number and bring your food out to you. You get your own drinks and walk to your table.

Our "server" if you will, did the baseline service in placing our order for us. After our food was delivered, no one came by to check on us or ask us how we enjoyed the food.

It almost felt as if we were at a fast food restaurant, paying dine in prices.

In closing, the experience was mediocre. The food was re-heated from what was once probably excellent quality having been made perhaps a week ago. The prices are unreasonably high for the quality of the food, and the service was basic serve yourself.

Your money is better spent elsewhere.

FINAL...

My wife loves ribs, good ribs that is. Places like Bill’s Steakhouse in Bronson, MI, Texas Roadhouse, Outback Steakhouse provide great hot & juicy ribs she enjoys. Reading the reviews for Shigs In Pit, I expected a wonderful lunch our first visit. It wasn’t.

Now, I know that some restaurants are subject to food variation based on traffic. If you go to a buffet when they aren’t busy, the food will probably suffer from setting too long. On the other hand, a burger joint that is packed is likely to suffer from sloppy preparation; messy sandwiches. I believe the merit of a good restaurant is receiving the same quality meal no matter what time of day you visit.

We stopped in Shigs In Pit at Maplecrest Road around 2:30PM on Sunday, and found the dining room fairly busy. After placing our order, we took a seat and received our trays in good time. However, the food was not as expected.

First , I will say that the breaded pork tenderloin I got was hot, juicy and other than a peppery taste, it was very good. My wife’s ribs were a different matter. They appeared burnt to me, but she called them dry. I tried some and found them room temperature, and very chewy. She said that’s not what she expected at all. Both of us had French fries that were served at room temperature as well. The fries were coated in what appeared to be pepper and salt making them very spicy. She had me try her creamy coleslaw. I found it very sharp tasting, and tasted more like a vinegar based slaw. It lacked a creamy texture altogether. On top of that, when I picked up the Texas toast, it was chilled as if it came out of the fridge with the slaw.

It’s said, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” I don’t know if we came at the wrong time of day, if the perfect storm of bad food prep conspired against our lunch, or what conditions led to our experience, but let me say it wasn’t an enjoyable meal over all. Based on this meal, I have to go against the majority of reviews and ask you to take a second thought eating at the Maplecrest Shigs In Pit for lunch, on a...

I had eaten at the original location downtown once before, and loved the food, but it was very cramped with limited seating space and long lines - worth the wait, but not somewhere I was brave enough to take the whole family.

Tonight we decided to try the new location on Maplecrest, and our experience was phenomenal. My sister and her fiance were visiting from out of town, and we wanted to take them to somewhere unique to Fort Wayne.

The restaurant was busy (Friday night crowd), but there was only one person in front of us in line to order food. The staff were very friendly, and we had our food in probably 3 or 4 minutes - it was very quick. And the best part was the spacious dining room. It was such a pleasant improvement over the downtown location.

We all got a kick out of the discovery that one of our 23 month old twins (the picky skinny one) loves ribs. She just about picked the bone clean!

Lastly, when we ordered, we took awhile to figure out which meats to try, and I think we confused the gentleman taking our order - our fault, not his. When we got our food, one of the meats was not what we ordered. My wife asked if we could swap it out for the one we ordered, and no questions asked, they just gave us the meat and let us keep the wrong one.

Great food, spacious environment, excellent service - made an excellent impression on our visitors - we will...